Digging My Grave
by K-yers
Summary: Beth doesn't mean to steal; it just happens. But when she steals the wrong thing from the wrong person, she's sent to Camp Green Lake as what they call the "tester". But how exactly is a girl supposed to survive in an all-boys camp? OC
1. 1: Girl Scouts

I didn't mean for it to happen: these things just happened to me. Something catches my eye and I feel this _itch _inside my fingers, as if the bones themselves are vibrating. My head gets all stuffy, like what happens when you get a cold. Next thing I know, I running away with the item clenched in my fist. I think my dad called it Kleptomania.

I've stolen quite a large amounts of items in my life. I remember that first thing, a rubber duck. I was seven and I just got this urge to take it. I have no idea why, out of all things, I wanted this duck, but next thing I knew, my hand was wrapped around the duck and I was trying to get away from the security guard.

My dad never had any idea what to do with me, most of time he ignored me. He's spent most of his time ignoring me since my mom died. I tried to tell myself that I didn't care, but I soon found myself trying extra hard to get his attention, whether it was good or bad. And so my obsession with stolen artifacts truly began.

I almost never got caught. I ran track at school so no security guard really got to chance to compete with me. I didn't normally steal from stores because of the security guards, but this problem of mine doesn't come with an on and off switch. So I ended up taking things from school, whether it's a neat-looking pen or someone's planner.

It all went downhill when I stole Brenna Martin's charm bracelet right off of her wrist.

Brenna was the most popular girl in school. Her dad was an attorney and her entire family was filthy rich. I wouldn't have gone after that stupid bracelet, but like I said, this Kleptomania or whatever doesn't come with an off switch. I had gotten pretty good at pick-pocketing and so Brenna's bracelet was gone before she could even blink.

People at school knew about my disorder. I never had any real friends because everyone was afraid of having their stuff nicked. So when word spread around that Brenna's bracelet was missing, I was the first suspect. The principal found the bracelet pretty fast and returned it to Brenna, hoping that that would be that. But that bracelet had belonged to Brenna's dead mother, so she pressed charges.

The judge hadn't been exactly sympathetic. She ranted at me about how stealing was a sin and so on and so forth. I had hung my head in shame. Why was I like this? People acted as if I _wanted _to be like this. But who would?

"I'm sure you've heard of Sister Judith's Detention Hall for Girls?" The judge asked me. I sunk a little lower in my seat. Sister Judith's Hell for Girls was hell. One girl from our grade had gone there and when she came back, she never spoke up in class and kept her head down the entire time. I was nervous and fidgety enough already; what would that place do to a person like me?

"But," The judge said suddenly. I jerked my head back up to watch her carefully. "There is an opening at Camp Green Lake. They're looking for a girl to join their camp as a tester. The choice is yours, Miss Krueger."

I had no idea what "tester" meant but there was no way I was going to spend a year and a half at Sister Judith's Hell for Girls. So I agreed to Camp Green Lake without hesitating.

Now I was handcuffed to a bus seat facing a guard who carried a shotgun on his lap. He wore dark aviators and I couldn't tell if he was looking at me or not. I jerked my head to the right, trying to flip my dark and wavy brown hair off my shoulders.

The bus was driving on a dirt road in the middle of the desert. The camp was called Camp Green Lake; where was the lake? I kept an eye out for anything green; so far I couldn't find anything remotely green. I sighed and that's when I started to notice the holes.

And then I noticed the boys.

I realized what tester meant with full force. I was going to be the only girl in this camp. The boys digging the holes stopped and stared as the bus passed, probably trying to catch a glimpse of the new kid. I moved over just a tad away from the window.

The bus pulled into the center of what looked like a small town. I could see six large tents standing side by side and a wooden shack and stalls and a log cabin with two trees beside it. I saw two boys washing a Cadillac. With any luck I would be put on car-washing duty. But with my luck, I highly doubted that.

The bus squealed to a stop and the bus opened up with a shuddering squealing noise. I could feel my body shaking as the guard took off my handcuffs and lead me outside. The bus driver wished me luck. I wanted to run back on the bus and hide, but it was already too late.

Some small groups of boys had gathered around the bus and had spotted me.

"It that a girl?"

"That's a girl!"

"What's a _girl _doing here?"

More boys crowded around, curious to see me. I ducked my head and stayed close to the guard, trusting him to use his shotgun if he needed to. He glanced at me sympathetically and led me into a small cabin.

The second I entered the room I was attacked by a vicious-smelling cloud of smoke. I coughed violently and the guard pushed me farther in. Cold air-conditioning folded me in its embrace and I found myself willing to sit in the overwhelming cigarette smoke storm.

A man was sitting at a desk with his feet up. He turned his head when the guard and I entered and I thought that he looked vaguely like a cat. A cigarette dangled lazily from his mouth. He glanced at us, seemingly bored and turned around. When he turned back 'round, he held two large bottle of Coke. I thought that one was for me but instead he gave them to the guard.

The man finally gave me some attention. "My name is Mr. Sir. You must be Beth Krueger, our guinea pig. First thing's first, you're the only female camper here and we're gonna be keepin' a close eye on ya, to see how other gurls could react to camp. If it don't work out, you go home after your sentence, but if it does, then more gurls will come here. Understand me?"

"Yes, Mr. Sir," I answered quietly. The guard left. Mr. Sir stared me up and down and snorted in amusement.

"You're not in Girl Scouts anymore,"


	2. 2: D-Tent

Mr. Sir led me into a back room and threw me two sets of clothes and a towel. Each set consisted of a long-sleeved orange jumpsuit, a white shirt T-shirt, a black T-shirt, and yellow socks. I got a sick feeling that the socks hadn't originally been yellow.

Mr. Sir told me to change and then turned his back. I swallowed out of fear and began to strip from the blue jeans and converse sneakers and loose-fitting red shirt that I had arrived in. I melted easily into the orange jumpsuit, putting it over my underwear and the black shirt I had been given. I quickly shifted through my jean pockets and dug out three rubber bracelets. I had gotten these from three different particular amazing sprees and I kept them on me. I hid them into the orange jumpsuit pocket, which was big enough to hide almost anything.

I had been given the smallest sizes in everything, but it was all still very baggy on me. I guess it was going to have to do. I threw my old clothes into the brown paper bag that Mr. Sir had given me. Once I let him know that i was safe to turn around, he gave me a pair of white sneakers and what used to be a Gatorade bottle. It was dry and dusty now and had a leather cord tied around the top and looped around. I set it around my body so that the leather cord crossed my chest. I was as ready as I was ever going to be.

Together, Mr. Sir and I walked out of the comfort of the air conditioning to the blazing heat of the camp. More campers had gathered around the main area, the rumor of a girl staying must've spread. I was greeted to cat calls and inappropriate shouts from a good amount of them. But a lot more just stared at me with blank looks, too amazed that a girl was here.

"Look around you, girl," Mr. Sir snapped. I wanted to say that I was as the crowd of orange-clad teenage boys got bigger. "D'you see any guard towers?"

"No, Mr. Sir," I answered quietly.

"Any electric fences?"

"No, Mr. Sir,"

"D'you want to run away? If you do, go right on 'head. I won't stop you."

Was this some sort of test? I glanced around from the barren and bleak landscape to the wall of boys behind me, which was starting to thin as more counselors started to push them away. those who were too stubborn to leave were watching me carefully, judging me with every move I made. I spotted one boy in particular who wore thick black glasses that were covered in hard-packed dirt. His arms were crossed and he watched me carefully, as if trying to predict my reaction. I had to prove to these boys that I wasn't going to bend so easily.

"I'm not running, Mr. Sir," I told him firmly, louder this time. I heard some snickers from over my shoulder but didn't even acknowledge them. Mr. Sir huffed in amusement.

"Good thinking," He said gruffly. "Nobody runs away from here. We don't need a fence. We've got the only water source for over a hundred miles. You'd be buzzard food by the third day."

"Buzzard food!" Some boy in the front of crowd shouted. He had dark blue hair that looked like it had been dyed recently. Either he was the newest camper or he had dye somewhere, which I doubted.

"Beth Krueger?" I turned from the weird looking boy to an even weirder looking man. He wore khaki shorts and knee-high white socks with a light blue button-up shirt. He wore a large straw hat and had a giant glob of sunscreen on his sunburned nose. He gave me a large and toothy grin. "My name is Mr. Pendanski."

The way he said his name was extremely peppy. He reminded me of some cheerleaders from school. Mr. Sir rolled his eyes and left, puffing more smoke out of his cigarette, leaving me alone with the man who took too many happy pills.

"I want you to know, Miss Beth, that I respect you. You may have done some bad things in your life, but that does not make you a bad person. Don't let anyone ever make you think otherwise."

Yep, he's definitely had too many happy pills.

"You'll be in D-Tent; and don't fret, the boys in this tent are quite respectful, they'll make sure nothing happens to you." Seeing the look on my face, he backtracked. "Not that anything will happen to you, but you can never be too careful. Oh, and the Warden wants me to let you know that you will be using her shower inside the cabin. Unless you would prefer to shower in front of the other campers?"

I quickly shook my head and asked Pendanski if he could thank the Warden for me. Pendanski smiled and said something about how polite I was. Then he smiled even wider. "Here comes some of your tent mates now!"

The boy with the thick black glasses covered with dirt led the way to me and Pendanski. He was followed by a very large black boy who didn't look too bright but who looked like the person you'd want on your side in a fight. Right next to him was a white boy with his orange jumpsuit arms tied around his waist and his white towel wrapped around his head. They all looked at me curiously, as if trying to size me up.

"Beth, this is Rex, Theodore, and Alan," Pendanski said cheerfully. I gave them a small smile that only Theodore returned. Rex tore his gaze from me to Pendanski.

"How many times do we gotta tell you, Mom? My name is X-Ray. And they're Squid and Armpit." He said, adding the last part to me. I nodded at their bizarre names but said nothing, not wanting to offend my new tent mates.

Pendanski rolled his eyes. "They all have their little nicknames but I prefer to call them by the name their parents gave them: the names society will recognize them by."

X-Ray rolled his eyes. Pendanski took that opportunity to assign him as my mentor. Then, without another word to anyone else, he left me alone with them. I turned back to the boys, too shy to speak first. Armpit studied the ground, not wanting to be the first to speak. X-Ray continued to size me up, as if trying to determine if I'll be worth the trouble of mentoring. Squid, on the other hand, was scanning my body up and down. I shuffled my feet.

A few more campers passing by gave me some more cat calls. I felt heat rush to my face as I ducked my head, not wanting to be seen by anyone but not knowing where to go hide.

"C'mon-Beth, Mom said your name is? I'll show you our tent," X-Ray said quickly, clapping his hands together and walking away from the perverted group of campers. I followed him into a huge tent with a D on the side of it. Armpit and Squid followed, though I'd rather have Squid in front of me, simply because I could feel his dark gaze moving up and down my slight frame.

The tent was roomy and had eight cots, four on each side. Armpit moved past me to sit on one closest to the door and I assumed that it was his. Squid moved past me as well and to one of the far off cots.

"The one beside me is empty if you want it," Squid called to me. I glanced uncertainly at X-Ray. He raised his eyebrows at me and shrugged, telling me that I was on my own in deciding where to sleep. I wanted to believe that Squid wouldn't try anything, but I had no idea why he was here. He could've raped some girl for all I know. But I sighed and went to the back of the tent and to the cot that Squid was talking about. It reeked of sour milk.


	3. 3: Trouble With A-Tent

Two more boys filed into the tent. One was white with dirty blond hair that stuck out in all directions, as if he had been electrocuted. The other boy was Hispanic and had a dark blue bandanna tied around his head. They both walked in and looked directly to X-Ray.

"There's a girl here, did you hear that?" The blond kid asked him. "Orbit was telling Whistle when we were coming up."

"Yeah, she's here," X-Ray said. "She's on the back cot, matter of fact." He gestured his dark hand back to where I stood silently behind my cot. The two boys looked back to me as if I was a ghost. The blond one stared at me with suspicion in his eyes. The Hispanic's eyes widened and he got a grin that spread to his entire face. Squid glanced back from the new boys to me.

"Beth this is Zigzag and Magnet," He said with his Southern drawl. I could easily see where Zigzag got his nickname, but I guessed that in order to figure out Magnet's nickname I would have to listen to his back story.

"Hi," I told them all quietly. All five boys looked at me.

"So yeh do talk!" Squid exclaimed. "I was startin' to get worried that yeh couldn't."

X-Ray took a step forward. "Okay, now that you've met everyone, we should show you the Rec Room. And since I'm your mentor, you walk with me. Come on now, hurry it up." He started to leave the tent without me. I scrambled out from behind my cot and hurried to catch up with him. X-Ray was waiting for me outside the tent.

Armpit, Squid, Zigzag, and Magnet all surrounded me and all voiced their opinions on the camp. It was a tad overwhelming for all of them to be talking at once: I had never really gotten this much attention from boys at school before.

"That over there is the Mess Hall," Squid said thickly, pointing to the largest building in camp.

"The showers are over there," Armpit said, showing me the eight stalls with only three walls each and nothing else to cover you while you bathed. I could see other guys there taking showers but I quickly averted my eyes.

"I'm surprised you even know where the showers are, Armpit," Magnet laughed loudly.

"Shut up," Armpit snapped. I held in my laughter.

"The Warden's cabin is that one," Zigzag said slowly. "She's got cameras and microphones all over the place."

"Don't listen to him," X-Ray told me from my left side. I stared around the camp.

"Thanks guys," I said, a little louder than before. The boys nodded and looked proud of themselves.

We reached the Rec Room and I noticed how it was misspelled. Instead of "Rec" it said "Wreck". I didn't dare correct it in front of my tent mates though. X-Ray led the way inside and I was nudged forward by Armpit when I hesitated.

Now I saw why they called it the Wreck Room. Almost everything in there was wrecked in one way or the other. There was a busted T.V which looked like someone had kicked the glass. Couches had giant holes in them and stuffing was coming out. Two pool tables were in the far corner of the room and X-Ray made a bee-line for it. Armpit Zigzag edged past me and headed instead for the T.V to stare intently at it, as if he was watching a program that only he could see.

As I passed one fairly large guy with his feet propped up, he cat called and shouted to the rest of the Wreck Room, "It's the bitch from D!"

Several other campers laughed. I felt my face turn red and I looked away and focused my gaze on X-Ray. But then there was the sound of scuffling behind me and I turned around to see Squid standing over the larger guy laying face first on the ground. He and Armpit glared at the guy and left the scene. Squid placed his hand on the back of my neck and pushed me away gently.

"Make sure to stay away from Lump, Beth," Squid warned. "And the rest of his tent."

"Almost everyone in A-Tent is here because of a girl," Armpit added, looking grave. I swallowed, a little afraid of exactly what Armpit was hinting at.

Magnet slid up right next to me. "Don't you go worrying your pretty little head, chica. Your incredibly handsome buddy Magnet has got your back."

I laughed and had to admire him for his confidence. We'd only known each other for ten minutes and he spoke to me as if we met years ago. I laughed at his statement.

"I'll keep that in mind," I said. Magnet wiggled his ears.

"Hey Beth!" Armpit called loudly. "D'you know how to play pool?"

"Sorry; I never learned," I said honestly. When I was young, and before my mom died, my dad had tried to teach me pool, but I had kept getting distracted by the shininess of the balls and hadn't been up to it. So he gave up. I suddenly wished that I had tried to learn.

"Well, you're gonna learn before your time here is done," X-Ray said with determination. "Now watch the master work." He set up the balls correctly and took the first shot. Then he passed the single pool stick to Armpit and they went back and forth at it.

Squid and Magnet stayed on either side of me, making comments about the game to me. Zigzag didn't return until right after X-Ray won. Armpit groaned. Suddenly, a loud and blaring white noise filled up the Wreck Room. I yelped and clung to the nearest tent mate's arm-Magnet's.

He grinned widely at me as I let him go. "It was just the dinner bell, chica."

"You consider _that _a bell?" I asked. Magnet and a few other tent mates laughed.

"She's funny too," Armpit said. "I think it'll be worth it to keep her around, X." He told X-Ray jokingly. X-Ray snorted and led the way out of the Wreck Room.

The Mess Hall was already crowded and I wondered exactly how many campers were there at Camp Green Lake. But then I saw that the long table at the far end was for counselors only. X-Ray took a spot in line with Armpit and Zigzag right behind him. Squid brought up the rear of the group, glancing over his shoulder every now and then.

I waited for him and so did Magnet, since he was waiting for me. "I think you can calm down now, Squid." i told him gently. Squid glanced quickly down at me.

"A-Tent is right behind us," He said curtly.

Oh.

I risked a peek around Squid to see that Lump guy from earlier leading a pack of aggressive looking boys. I saw the dark blue haired guy right next to Lump. He winked at me and wet his lips with the tip of his tongue. Magnet's warm hand grabbed mine firmly and he pulled me away, Squid following me closely.


	4. 4: The First Hole

Dinner that night could barely be considered food. The counselors behind the counter slapped dark green mush on my tray and then a small pile of pale brown mush that looked like ground beef from a can. Then again, it all probably did come from a can. The only appetizing thing on my plate was the piece of bread, and even that looked stale.

The boys had been very curious as to how I got here. When I said that I was here for theft, both Magnet and Squid looked at me with interest, asking me what it was I stole. I told them about the bracelet but didn't elaborate. This just led to a conversation about all the stuff I had stolen before. Squid and Magnet were both extremely interested, being fellow thieves themselves.

After the conversation finished, X-Ray and Armpit began to talk about some baseball player called Sweetfeet. I zoned out around this time as all the boys talked about this player.

I wasted no time crawling into bed. The lights went off automatically and soon the sounds of snoring filled the tent. I sat up in bed for a moment and just sat there, listening to the boys sleep. Armpit was snoring the loudest and I could hear X-Ray muttering a few words from where I was. Squid at least was quiet.

It took hours for me to fall asleep. It seemed that right when I closed my eyes, the same white noise alarm went off, waking everyone up. I jolted up and rubbed my face with my hands. All around me, the boys were up and getting dressed. X-Ray finished getting ready and walked back to me.

"C'mon, Beth, time to start digging," X-Ray told me, stifling a yawn. He was just as tired as I was. I nodded and struggled to my feet. X-Ray made sure that I was steady on my feet and left me there. I hurried into my baggy orange jumpsuit and tied my dark hair into a ponytail. When I left the tent, X-Ray was waiting for me with the rest of the tent. I was faintly shocked to see them still there.

"Well it took you long enough," Squid snorted before trudging off with Zigzag by his side. X-Ray didn't start walking until I was next to him. Armpit filed in on my other side and Magnet ran ahead to the large crowd forming.

X-Ray and Armpit took me to the library. But instead of books, there were shovels. Armpit grabbed one and X-Ray grabbed a shovel with a bit of orange tape on it. I stepped forward and picked up my own shovel. It was almost as tall as me.

X-Ray and Armpit joined the crowd of people. I still hadn't figured out what it was they were trying to get. But then Magnet came trotting back to me with a shovel under his arm and he had his hands full. I frowned at what was in his hands.

"Magnet, what exactly is that?" I asked uncertainly. He held it out for me to take. I wrapped my fingers around it and cringed. It was a tortilla dripping with what smelled like honey. I wrinkled my nose and looked back at Magnet.

"It's better than it looks," Magnet said. "It's budget breakfast. Until the next shipment comes in, we're stuck eating this."

I blinked and, after watching Magnet do it, took a nibble out of the sopping tortilla. Like Magnet said, it tasted better than it looked. I took another bite, a larger one this time, and Magnet laughed.

Mr. Sir corralled certain campers-those from tents A, B, and D-and led us to where we were going to dig. B-Tent kept close to Mr. Sir, A-Tent was right behind him and D-Tent brought up the rear. Mr. Sir dropped off B-Tent quickly and led the rest of us farther out. We passed a stretch of holes until we came upon a blank spot. Mr. Sir separated A-Tent to the left and us to the right.

"Your hole should be the size of your shovel. Five feet deep and five feet wide. If you find anythin' interestin' then you are to report to either me or Mr. Pendanski. You may leave when your hole is completely dug." And with that, Mr. Sir left.

I was the one digging the closest to A-Tent, since I was the newest kid. As Mr. Sir left, I observed what my tent mates were doing. Magnet and Zigzag were closest to me. Zigzag was scooping up dirt, walking a little bit away and started piling it up there. I copied him.

The crust was the hardest to get through. The sun began to rise over the desert and it seemed that the ground got harder as the sun got higher. Sweat broke out across my forehead and dripped down my face. I managed to get down to the looser dirt that was easier to dig through.

The sun got higher and higher into the sky. It beat down mercilessly on my neck, which wasn't being properly protected by the hair. I took a slight break to sip my water. All of my tent mates were at least two feet deep already. I breathed heavily and scooped out another shovel-full of dirt.

Hours must've gone by when the water truck came back around. I sighed from the thought of more water; I had run out a little while ago. As Mr. Sir got the water tank ready to dispense, my tent mates got in line. X-Ray was first with Armpit right behind him. Squid got behind Armpit and Zigzag stood impatiently behind him. Magnet was last or was last until I got behind him.

Mr. Sir filled up our canteens and when I got my turn he spoke, "So how's you first hole, Girl Scout?"

"Hard," I said, gasping for breath as he filled up the canteen.

"You got any blisters yet?" Mr. Sir asked gruffly.

"Big fat blisters!" Magnet called happily. I nodded and Mr. Sir returned my canteen to me. I drank from it happily as he headed to A-Tent. Magnet edged over to me and tried to peek at my hands. "How bad are they, chica?"

I showed him my hands. Fat blisters had formed on my palms and fingers and had burst, forming new blisters. They were stained red. Magnet did an over-dramatic cringe and grabbed my wrist before pulling me along with him.

"Hey everyone, look at the chica's hands!" Magnet called out. He pulled me along to everyone's hole to show them my hands. Everyone agreed that they looked terrible. Finally, Magnet dropped me off at my hole and went back to his own.

I set my hands down tenderly on the shaft and gripped carefully. Every single scoop out of the earth was extremely painful. I noticed how every time I shifted my hands, there were blood stains on the wood. I grimaced and struggled to force myself to continue digging.

It wasn't very long until a shadow fell over me. I looked up and had to shield my eyes to see Magnet standing over me. "Hola chica," He said.

"Hola," I said weakly. Magnet stood there for a while and then removed his large gloves from his hands. I noticed then how much darker his arms were compared to his hands. He handed me the gloves.

"Are you sure?" I asked. Magnet nodded and forced one of the gloves onto my hand.

"Positive; besides you need it more than I do,"

I took the other glove from his hand and put it on my hand. "Thank you, Magnet." I said gratefully. Magnet smiled and went back to his hole. The gloves did make it easier to dig, it still wasn't enjoyable, but it was less painful than before. I glanced back to where Magnet was digging close by. He kept shifting his hands on the shaft and he looked like he was in pain.

I wanted to return his gloves back but I got the feeling that he wouldn't take them. So I smiled to myself and continued digging as the sun got higher into the sky.


	5. 5: Freak

Squid was the first one done. Armpit and X-Ray finished around the same time. Then Zigzag. Finally, Magnet and I were the last ones there, besides those remaining in A-Tent. The sun was stating to sink lower in the sky and then Magnet was finished. He glanced over to where I was still digging and looked like he wanted to stay. But I waved him along and he left soon after that.

Just because I was a girl, doesn't mean anyone was going to wait for me to finish.

I had gotten my hole the width it was supposed to be but I still had to work on the depth. I had probably a few more inches to go, seeing as the top go the hole was starting to cover my head. I gasped painfully and shoveled another scoop of dirt over my head.

"Watch out there, girl!"

I spun around and stared up. The sun was behind this guy's face and I couldn't see his face, but I knew that he wasn't a member of D-Tent. He must've been from A-Tent, seeing how they were the closest ones digging to us. Then I saw a tint of dark blue hair and I realized that it must've been that one guy I kept seeing around.

"Um, hi?" I said, saying it like a question. The boy didn't answer, but hopped down into my hole. I backed up quickly; five feet was too close for comfort and this guy just kept getting closer and closer. "You have something you want to say?" I asked nervously.

"More like something I wanna do," The guy said slyly, his face coming into view. His eyes were a pale green color and they were sliding up and down my frame in a nasty way. I felt self-conscious and backed up until my back was pressed up against the dirt wall.

"You know what they call me?" He asked, getting closer. His breath was extremely sour and it smelled as if he hadn't brushed his teeth in a long time. When I didn't answer he said it anyway. "They call me Freak."

"Interesting name," I said quietly. Freak's chest was now pressing slightly against mine. I could hear the blood roaring in my ears, deafening everything else around me.

"You want to know why I'm here at camp?" Freak asked softly, his foul breath tickling my ear. I closed my eyes tightly and held my breath, my heart beating fast in my chest. "Rape,"

Was there any chance of _any _of my tent mates coming back for me? I highly doubted it; which made this situation worse. I heard Freak snicker and I opened my eyes a tad to see him unbuckling his belt. Then he leaned forward.

I had been clutching my shovel this whole time. And right when Freak got that much closer, I swung it without thinking and without aiming. But I hit something _hard_ and I heard the cry of pain from Freak. I stared at him briefly, gaping at the boy now writhing around on the dirt floor. I jumped over him and used my shovel to get the hell out of that hole.

The hole had been pretty much dug. There was no way that I was staying there to finish the job. Freak was still in there. So I bolted for camp and didn't stop running until I was clear inside the camp. Several other campers stopped and stared at me but didn't bother trying to figure out what was wrong. I imagined how I looked to them, and didn't care at all that I probably looked like a freak running into the camp.

I dumped the shovel into the library and headed for D-Tent. I grabbed the clothes that Mr. Sir had said would be my relaxation clothes and walked tentatively to the Warden's cabin. Pendanski had said that I'd be showering in there, so I just had to go in there and ask for the shower, I guess. I glanced around the camp really quick, making sure that Freak wasn't around. I didn't want to face him for a long time.

Walking up to the cabin, I knocked on the door softly, hoping that the Warden would hear it. The door opened quickly afterwards and I was surprised to see that the Warden was a woman. She smiled kindly at me and escorted me inside.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Beth," She said. "The shower is down the hall and to the right. Just go right in and make yourself at home."

I walked into the indicated bathroom that she pointed out. I blinked at the fact that the color pink was everywhere in this bathroom. It was almost too much, but I didn't want to be the one to point that out to the Warden, seeing as rule number one around here was _do not upset the Warden_.

Hot water streamed down on me, making me sigh with relief. I had learned a long time ago that heat on heat caused a sort of cooling effect, and this shower was no exception. Finishing quickly, I dressed into my relaxation orange jumpsuit and left the cabin without seeing the Warden on the way out; she must've been doing something important.

With the awesome shower, I had almost forgotten about what had happened out at the hole. Almost forgotten.

Freak was walking out of the Wreck Room. I hid behind the showers as he passed, but he didn't seem to notice me. Despite what Freak had almost done to me, I felt guilty about the severe puffiness and swollen red and crushed skin on the side of his face. The dark red and slightly purple flesh clashed greatly with his dark blue hair. I waited until he was back in A-Tent before I ran by it and into D-Tent.


	6. 6: Magpie

A week after hitting Freak with my shovel, his hair turned from dark blue to reddish pink. The swelling in his face had gone down but the skin was dark yellow and green. His face looked like a rainbow.

I asked my tent mates how Freak had dyed his hair. Squid said that he did it every week, though none of the counselors found any dye. I spent that night wondering how you dye your hair without any dye.

The days started to melt together in a hot mess of dirt, dust, and holes. The blisters on my hands burst, formed, and burst again. Every day during lunch break, Magnet would check out my hands and when they looked awful enough, he'd parade me around to the whole tent and everyone would agree that my hands looked terrible.

I still hadn't gotten a nickname yet. Mr. Sir kept calling me Girl Scout but I think that was because I was the only girl. I was really curious as to what was going on through X-Ray's head, but whatever he was thinking of, he never told anyone. I just wish he would tell someone so that I could get out of this stressing.

Later, after I had showered for the day, I was supposed to meet my tent mates in the Wreck Room. I walked down the hallway of the Warden's cabin. She was out overseeing the delivery truck making its rounds. Squid had informed me that the delivery truck only came once a month to bring Camp Green Lake food rations, bottled water, and special deliveries for the counselors.

As I passed by the kitchen, something caught my eye. I glanced that way and spotted a new case of Budlight Lime beer. The itching in my fingers started. I stared at the beer. The case was designed in a way so that all you had to do was reach into the case and pick up the bottle. The itching in my fingers just got fiercer...

The sun was setting over the horizon as I walked casually to D-Tent. The bottle of beer had been slipped into my huge pocket. I spotted the Warden standing beside the delivery truck signing something, but I sped my walking up until I was running to the safety of my tent.

No one was in there. I sat down on my cot and buried my face into my hands. Why did it have to belong to the Warden? She was going to punish me somehow. My thoughts were put on hold when my tent mates entered.

"Where'd you go, Beth?" Armpit asked as he led the way into the tent. "X-Ray and I were going to teach you how to play pool."

X-Ray must've noticed the guilty look on my face. "What'd you do?"

Without speaking, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the bottle of beer. The boys stared at it for a full minute before wide smiles broke out on their faces. Magnet leapt forward and snatched the bottle from my hand before I could even blink.

"I haven't had a beer in months!" Magnet said gleefully. "Thanks a lot, chica!" He cracked open the bottle and took a long sip, looking happier than I had ever seen him. He passed the bottle to X-Ray, who took a swig as well. Squid grabbed my face and planted a huge kiss on my temple.

"I miss that taste of beer. You are officially my favorite girl ever!" Squid kissed my head again and grabbed the bottle from Zigzag, who didn't know what to do exactly. The boys sat around a circle and passed the bottle around, watching it eagerly until it came into their reach. I sat between X-Ray and Magnet. They tried to pass it to me, but I refused it every time. I never was a beer-drinker, and I wasn't going to start now.

Armpit was the one who got the last sip of beer. The boys clapped and cheered when the bottle was completely empty. At the end, X-Ray took the empty bottle from Armpit and stood on unsteady feet.

"I would like to have a toast for the girl who made this night a hell of a lot better, Magpie." X-Ray hiccuped.

I blinked as the boys clapped me on the back and called out my new name. I looked at Magnet. "So I'm Magpie?"

"Si, chica!" Magnet said happily. The boys called out my new name again and the lights went out, signaling that it was time for bed.

* * *

The next day as I was digging, I kept my eyes peeled. I kept expecting Mr. Sir or Pendanski to storm up to my hole and confront me about the beer. What I got was so much worse.

A Cadillac that I had seen in front of the Warden's cabin was heading our way.

I started to dig furiously. The boys from D-Tent watched it come, all while keeping an eye on me. I continued digging. But I started to shake visibly with fear when the Cadillac stopped next to our holes and I nearly froze when the door opened and closed.

"Magpie!" The Warden's voice pierced through the sounds of digging. I stopped what I was doing and looked up at her. Her form was silhouetted from the sun as she glared down at me. "May I have a word with you?"

"Yes ma'am," I said quietly, dropping my shovel and leaving the safety of my hole. My tent mates hadn't stopped what they were doing but kept their eyes on me and didn't stop listening. The Warden took a warning step toward me, a dangerous look on her face.

"Yesterday when you were in the shower, I put a full case of beer on the kitchen counter. When I came back, you were gone and one bottle was missing. Did you steal it?"

I stared at her. She already knew the answer. I wanted to deny it, but there was no way I could get around this. So I stared at the Warden's cowgirl boots and answered. "Yes,"

The Warden didn't say anything at first. But when she opened her mouth to speak, someone else butted in.

"It was my fault, ma'am," Magnet shouted from his hole. When the Warden glared at him, he scrambled out of it and faced her. "Magpie and I made a bet that she could steal something from your cabin. I didn't know what she would bring but when she showed up with the beer, we shared it." X-Ray made a small noise from his hole but the Warden didn't notice it.

"So what you're saying is that it's both of your faults?" She asked. Magnet nodded and gave me a look that screamed at me to go along with it. I nodded too, though it didn't feel right. Finally, the Warden smirked.

"Fine; y'all want to go down together, so be it. I want you both to finish your holes today, but tomorrow you won't be digging." She paused and Magnet and I glanced at each other with surprise. "You two will report to my cabin at nine o'clock for your final punishment. Now hurry up and finish your holes." With that, she left us alone.

"What do you think she'll have y'all do?" Squid asked from his hole. Magnet and I looked at each other nervously and didn't answer Squid. As we went to our holes, I poked his elbow nervously and looked up at him.

"Why'd you do that?" I asked.

Magnet shrugged. "I honestly don't know, chica. Let's just hope that whatever she wants us to do, it's not that bad."


	7. 7: Rattlesnakes

I had forgotten what it felt like to sleep in past four thirty. The siren woke me up and I had started to drowsily get ready, over by his cot, Magnet was doing the exact same. But then X-Ray had shoved me back down onto the cot. "Not today, Magpie; you'll get to dig tomorrow morning."

"Oh, right," I muttered, snuggling back into the sour-smelling blankets. I heard Armpit giving Magnet the same treatment and his mutterings as he wrapped himself into the blanket. It didn't take much for me to fall back asleep. I woke up a few hours later when Magnet shook me awake.

"C'mon, Magpie, or we'll have the Warden on our asses even more than now." He said urgently. I groaned and got ready anyway. Magnet left so that I could have some privacy. When I was ready, I left the coolness of D-Tent and joined Magnet outside in the glaring sun.

I don't think I had ever seen the camp this empty. Seriously, there wasn't a soul around. All the campers were on the lake digging. That just left Magnet and I alone, except the counselors.

If we had been under different circumstances, I would've enjoyed this day.

Magnet and I made our way quickly to the Warden's cabin, not wanting to be a minute late. She was waiting on the front porch as we walked up. The Warden glared at us from under her straw hat and scowled.

"If you both think that today is a day off, you're sadly mistaken." She said in a deathly quiet voice. Magnet and I exchanged a glance. Neither of us had even dared to hope for a day off. The Warden continued. "You two will be doing a very special job for me today, one that I have no time to even glance at usually. But y'all are my special cases. So today, y'all will be collecting rattle snakes."

"Wait, what?" I asked, shocked. Magnet and I looked at each other with disbelief. The Warden raised her eyebrows.

"Excuse me?" The Warden. I backtracked.

"I mean, are you sure that's safe for kids to do?"

"If it wasn't do you think I'd let you? As long as you're not an idiot about it, y'all should be just fine." Then she set Magnet and I to work.

We were supposed to go out, farther than all the other campers with one shovel, one metal bucket and two canteens between the two of us. That water was all we were going to get; the Warden didn't want the noise from the truck scaring away any snakes. When Magnet asked how we were supposed to catch them, the Warden told us to use our imagination.

The campers we passed stopped to watch us silently, but they continued their work. Magnet and I wandered around until we were a good one hundred yards away from the nearest cluster of campers. We stopped and looked around silently; this seemed like a good enough spot.

"So do you have any idea on how to catch snakes, chica?" Magnet asked, positioning his goggles on his face. I shook my head, but I don't think that he saw me all that well.

"My dad used to watch Animal Planet. But I don't think the Crocodile Hunter messed with rattlesnakes from Texas." I said. Magnet laughed and told me to roll my orange sleeves down.

"That way if we get bit, the little sucker can bite on that jumpsuit for a while." Magnet explained. It didn't sound like that good an idea, but it was better than nothing and I had no ideas left for the table. So we both rolled our sleeves down and Magnet started to dig.

We had no clue what we were supposed to be doing. So we agreed on Magnet digging for the snakes and I would stand to the side, in case Magnet needed a break, and if a snake just so happened to slither out of the shallow hole, I would dive towards it and cover it with the bucket. Other than that, we had no real plan.

Magnet was only digging for about forty minutes when a loud hiss interrupted our perfect silence. I wheeled around, looking for the source. Magnet stopped what he was doing with a jerk and raised his shovel above his head, as if prepared to chop off the snakes head. We heard the snake slithering away, and I found it right as the rattle was sliding into a very small hole.

Magnet swore and started to dig at the small hole. Hard dust was masking his goggles and I had to marvel out how he could still see. Even under that orange jumpsuit, I could still make out the lean and muscular form of Magnet's arms and torso. I wondered how long he'd been here at Camp Green Lake. The thought had come to me one night when the boys in D-Tent were changing in front of me. All of them were extremely muscular, not in a body builder way but in a more subtle way. The thing was that some of the boys, mainly Zigzag and Squid, were not ashamed of their bodies and would strip down to nothing at all in front of me, causing me to dive my face into the nearest pillow. Even though I hadn't seen anything, I felt my face turn bright red at the memory and forced it away.

"So Magnet," I began. "How long have you been here?" Magnet stopped digging long enough to glance my way.

"I got here, um, I think two months before you, chica. But there's nothing here that'd confirm it, so I have no real idea." He got back to digging and I felt slightly guilty for bringing it up. "D'you really think we're gonna catch a snake?"

When he was tired, Magnet would start to slur his words more.

I shrugged. "I highly doubt it, but if we show up empty handed today, I think the Warden will make us do this until we catch a snake." Magnet sighed and slammed the shovel blade deeper into the dirt. "Do you want me to have a turn?"

Magnet silently handed me the shovel and I took his place. Just because I was a girl, didn't mean that I was going to be excused from this sort of physical labor. It made me kind of pleased in a way. The fact that Magnet handed me the shovel was another way of him telling me that he thought I could handle it. A small flame of pride lit up inside me.


End file.
